Knit to This
Knit to This: Conclave
Ah, what better to watch on Super Bowl Sunday than a movie that goes deep on one of the all-time-great contests of wills: the election of a new pope.
“No sane man would want the papacy,” Stanley Tucci mutters at one point.
“You should be careful, Thomas,” John Lithgow whispers at one point.
“Although we sisters are supposed to be invisible, God has nevertheless given us eyes and ears,” Isabella Rossellini declares at one point.
The intrigue! The cast!
Conclave shows us the ultimate in strategic planning weekends—you know, when the board travels to a fancy destination (the Vatican), to some multipurpose room with dim lighting (the Sistine Chapel), to sort out who the new CEO will be (the pope).
I have no idea whether this tale of pope picking is accurate or respectful or bonkers. Based on a novel by Robert Harris, it’s probably taking significant liberties with one of the most (literally) cloistered gatherings in the world.
I don’t know; is this a Catholic Super Bowl, or Catholic Survivor, where the competition is to figure out whom to vote onto the island?
So much voting!
It looks incredible—the director, Edward Berger, is just so fantastic at capturing the exquisite ritual of it all, the shadowy corridors, the flocks of nuns scurrying, the drifts of cardinals in their ecclesiastical finery.
And, of course, at the heart is one of my all-time favorite actors, the eternally slightly miserable-appearing, fabulous Ralph Fiennes. You loved him when he was the tortured Count Almasy in The English Patient! You hated him when he was the nasally challenged Voldemort! You really hated him when he was a Nazi in Schindler’s List. You booed him when he was Robert Moses! Now, he delivers one of his most dialed-back, powerful performances ever as Cardinal Lawrence, the guy who has to navigate this messy group.
“Certainty is the great enemy of unity,” he says at one point. “Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance. There is one sin which I have come to fear above all others: certainty. If there was only certainty, and no doubt, there would be no mystery. And therefore, no need for faith.”
Tell it, Cardinal Lawrence!
Thank you for the recommendation. That just shot this movie to the top of my queue.
Such a brilliant film! Wonderful camera work as well as the acting.
Thanks for the review – I have my Sunday knitting evening planned!
You had me at that cast! Wow, what a line-up of stars! I will be watching Conclave after the Puppy Bowl!
You had me at “Catholic Super Bowl”! If I hadn’t already read the book and watched the movie twice, I’d take this Snippets as a sign from the Goddess that THIS is the perfect watch for a non-football fan. Instead, I will continue with A French Village.
We are also watching/reading (subtitles) A French Village Village!
Wow, Ann, that was a beautifully done review. That quote about certainty was my favorite in the movie.
Good movie. I watched and then the following evening, watched The Two Popes. Perhaps even BETTER! It’s on Netflix.
Just put a double feature on my viewing list!
Loved the movie! Book is also great!
Fabulous movie! I just watched it yesterday while knitting and your write up is spot on!
Now going to watch it for a third time. SO GOOD! I’ll watch my Ann Weaver class and then Conclave. Day planned! Thank you, MDK!
Sorry to disagree, Ann. I’ll be watching because of Stanley Tucci!
He made an excellent showing. It’s not his fault that I kept expecting him to mix me a Negroni!
Thank you for this well written piece. I loved the quotes you went with! I will certainly watch this now,
Enjoyed this not only for superb acting; the portrayal of the politics of the papacy but also, for the unforeseen (at least to me) ending….
Yes! What a surprise and delightful ending twist!
I saw this when it first came out. I love Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Isabella, John, the whole cast. I don’t know how much was actually accurate but being raised Catholic I really enjoyed the the movie and watching the process. Beautiful film work.
I watched this last night!! Wow. I may need to watch it again.
Sounds intriguing and gripping. As a life long catholic who attended all catholic girls schools and university,
I am opting for the Super Bowl and the Chiefs.
The pope will have to wait .
What A FABULOUS idea for what to watch tonight!
I thought it was borderline trashy fun, with quite a hoot of a camptastic reveal, though it’s of course all dressed up as blibbity blab about faith and whatnot, like all the movies like this are – all those 80s and 90s priest/mafia movies that always seemed to star Mickey Rourke or middle period DeNiro or F Murray Abraham, and it was always just a priest with a secret movie. Same here! But it’s fun, I got a kick out of it.
With just one or two additional scenes – and maybe a death drop – it could easily pass for an episode of Drag Race, though, what with everyone swanning around in dresses making whispered alliances and spilling tea nonstop. Seriously, it is ALL OF THAT. Opulence!
Oh DG, thank you for your post. I thought it was beautifully shot but I found the story line shallow and the “reveals” under-nuanced. On the other hand, it reminded me very much of a comedy from 1991 called The Pope Must Die. It basically had the same plot line. Good people, bad people, and in the end the right person wins.
There was indeed so much gossip and more tea than was thrown into the harbor. Cardinals! They’re just like us. LOL.
All their drag stuff and then opposition to homosexuality. Only white men could pull this off.
It was a good movie. I’m just sorry that it promotes, through popular entertainment, a hugely corrupt, avaricious, abusive institution. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Brava, Ann Shayne!!
So well written I had to read it aloud!
Fiennes should win the Oscar for this quiet and powerful performance.
It was a masterclass in acting by a great quartet: Fiennes, Tucci, Lithgow and Rossellini.
Women and their quiet, astute observations ….
A smart movie with beautiful sets, costumes … good writing and nary a superhero in site.
Truly one of the best movies I have ever seen. The cast is remarkable, the visuals are perfect. I am not sure I could tear myself away to knit to it, but when you watch it the second time, maybe you can.
Just watched this week! The ending aside(!), just all these mostly white men who rule all this money and artifacts and can decide their church’s take on everything was fascinating. Great acting. So all the jousting for position took place outside the chapel. I was expecting nomination speeches. Now, about that ending…
For anyone interested in the book, it is in fact by Robert Harris (just checked).
Thank you! Roberts and Thomases all over the place around here . . .
Oh that’s hilarious. When I read the post this morning I could get my brain around the book being authored by the same guy who wrote Silence of the Lambs.
I watched it in the theater, and this film was made for the big screen. Beautifully filmed in addition to all the things you mention, Ann. Catholic Superbowl! Perfect description.
I did not see the wild twist coming. Definitely recommend. But not to knit to, you really want to absorb the visuals.
Wonderful, amazing movie! One of the really good ones! I definitely need to watch it again. So love the ending quote.
Watched it today. Was not expecting that ending for a minute.
I loved this so much I watched at the movies and again streaming. Beautifully cast and fabulous to look at. A real edge of your seat mystery.